Alright, ladies and gentlemen, as weird as this may sound ... I like ABBA. This album is what actually got me into ABBA in the first place, when my mother had bought this CD back in 2000-2002 (I cannot for the life of me remember when she had purchased it).
And I took a huge chance ordering this record.
First, let me just say that I actually cannot find the version I ordered from Amazon.ca. The above photo is from the Back To Black series as we previously talked about with the BTB re-release of Dire Straits' claim-to-fame record "Brothers In Arms", and the notes listed here on Discogs.com gives me clearer indication of when around this record was repressed and re-released. I won't go into too much detail on why I know I have some sort of uncharted copy, but regardless I think it's the same deal.
At least, the records feel like 180g ... but it could be less. (Also, the frustrating fact that it's brand new vinyl, which simply taking the vinyl out of the sleeve causes static electricity, kind of makes me wonder if it's not even virgin. My "Brothers In Arms" record still does that to this day.)
Okay, anyway. Let's break it down, shall we? Here's the tracklisting:
- A1: Dancing Queen
- A2: Knowing Me, Knowing You
- A3: Take A Chance On Me
- A4: Mamma Mia
- A5: Lay All Your Love On Me
- B1: Super Trouper
- B2: I Have A Dream
- B3: The Winner Takes It All
- B4: Money, Money, Money
- B5: S.O.S.
- C1: Chiquitita
- C2: Fernando
- C3: Voulez-Vous
- C4: Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
- D1: Does Your Mother Know
- D2: One Of Us
- D3: The Name Of The Game
- D4: Thank You For The Music
- D5: Waterloo
[I am not including the times of the songs due to the length of the tracklist.]
Right, so. That's the tracklist. Pretty much it includes all of the bands' biggest hits of their career as musicians. We pretty much know all of these songs (probably by heart, for the die-hards) especially from Mamma Mia! The Musical, and the movie based on the same Broadway show. The band was highly successful in the 70s and the 80s but due to rising complications within the band, they disbanded in the early 80s. The entire band claimed, though at this time working on solo projects, they would come back together for another album, yet one never transpired. Apparently, with everything that happened during the band's peak times, I don't blame them for not getting back together. Agnetha had a pretty solid, though slightly unsuccessful, solo career and still records album today, and Frida (the other 'A' in ABBA, her real name being Anni-Frid) had only one solo hit. Benny & Bjorn continued to make smash hits for other artists and rose to fame once again with the revival of ABBA's music with Mamma Mia! The Musical. Frida supported the show financially.
Cool.
So! That being said, and I'm sure you ALL know of ABBA's history already, let's get to the actual grading of this re-release of ABBA's greatest hits.
I remember listening to this CD back when my mother bought it. I was blown away by the sounds the band was able to produce, the melodies, the sound effects, the percussion... It opened up a whole new world for me in music. I do remember, specifically, the sound quality, which was pretty damn sweet. Surprisingly enough, the vinyl is actually able to compare quite easily to the CD release, which is awesome. I love it when vinyl quality and CD quality matches.
Now, let me just say that audiophiles will argue endlessly on which audio medium has the best sound quality. Mind you, I'm kind of jumping right into the middle of this by creating this blog and I just want to say that I am stating my own opinions. In no way am I a master of determining audio quality. If I like what I hear, then I'll post about it. If I have issues with it, I'm going to say something about it. It's kind of like friends helping each other out when the help is necessary. A small community of record collectors, new or old, should at least have someone say something about vinyl quality, right?
Okay. Now that that's out of the way, I have to say the vinyl quality of "Gold: Greatest Hits" is pretty amazing. The only issue I have is the reverb on the tracks. The vocals sound almost oddly distant, like someone moved the microphone away from the gals and turned up the echo on the vocals in post-production. I've had similar experiences with vocal tracks before on cassette tapes in certain car stereos (and for some reason, Reba McEntire and LeAnn Rimes' vocals are the worst for 80s - 90s car stereos). I felt like I was back in my mom's old '84 or '86 (can't remember which year) Ford Grand Marquis. The reverb I speak of is quite noticeable, so if you're not a fan of that, beware.
I just can't remember if the original CD sounded the same way, too. And of course I don't even have it on me at this moment in time. Damn. (Though I do have the CD ripped to my iTunes Library -- not nearly as noticeable as the vinyl, but it could be just iTunes and the bitrate I'm playing the music at.)
Anyway, that's all I really have to say that's bad with this record. It is quite a fantastic record and the fact that it's a 2-LP makes me feel kind of special. Discogs.com does feature this album on just one LP, allegedly released in Colombia, which makes it look kind of cool.
So! Here come the points and the conclusion:
- Sound Quality: 4.75 out of 5.
- Mastering: 4.25 out of 5.
- I just personally feel that the record could have been mastered better, and the reverb issue could have easily been avoided.
- Overall: 4.75 out of 5.
Once again, the Discogs.com listing is here.
You can purchase this vinyl record from Amazon.ca & Amazon.com.
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